Follow the author of this article

Follow the topics within this article

A demo for highly anticipated football game FIFA 19 has been released today for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The demo arrives as the maker of the world's biggest football video game concluded the grand reveal of the ratings of the best 100 players in the game. The demo will give the public at large a first chance to test the gameplay changes from FIFA 18.

For the challenging football team, flair can win you games but it’s the nuts and bolts that win titles. Kylian M’bappe wowed at the World Cup, but France wouldn’t have brought home the trophy without the less heralded disruption of N’Golo Kante or imperious defensive pairing of Varane and Umtiti.

For the annual sports game, the headline additions may grab a few new players, but it is the work elsewhere that will keep them playing. And so it is for FIFA 19. Its PES-scalping addition of fully-licensed European competition in the Champions League and Europa League tops the bill, but the nips and tucks elsewhere are the things that most excite.

Initial impressions of FIFA 19 is of a game that has looked at the long-term frustrations of FIFA 18 and tackled them head-on. And, frankly, the Champions League doesn’t seem to be the only thing that EA has pinched from Pro Evolution Soccer as FIFA 19 looks to assert its football game dominance. You will get the chance to try the game soon enough, with the demo due next week. Here is everything we know so far.

FIFA 19 release date

FIFA 19 is due for release on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch on 28 September 2018. However, members of EA Access will be able to start playing a week earlier.

When is the FIFA 19 demo, what teams are can I play as and how do I download?

The FIFA 19 demo is out now for PS4 and Xbox One. It is available for free for all owners and will be downloadable from the respective console store fronts. The demo size is clocking in at 7.4 GB.

Players will be able to test out the game in quick play, including matches with all the Champions League trimmings and, for the first time, will be able to have a glimpse at the third season of The Journey story mode. In the demo you can play as Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, PSG, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Roma, and Tottenham Hotspur

FIFA 19 ratings: who are the top 100 players in the game?

Always the matter of much debate, between gamers and real life football players alike, EA has revealed the ratings of the top 100 players in FIFA 19. The reveal of the FIFA ratings has become an event in itself, as real-life players take delight and umbrage with their perceived skill level. Here is the full list of player ratings from 100-1. Cover star Ronaldo has, perhaps unsurprisingly, taken the top spot.

100 Kostas Manolas (Roma) 85

99 Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) 85

98 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy) 85

97 Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) 85

96 Blaise Matuidi (Juventus) 85

95 Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) 85

94 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) 85

93 Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) 85

92 Edin Dzeko (Roma) 85

91 Koke (Atletico Madrid) 85

90 Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) 85

89 Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid) 85

88 Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) 85

87 Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) 85

86 Alisson (Liverpool) 85

85 David Alaba (Bayern Munich) 85

84 Fabinho (Liverpool) 85

83 Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich) 85

82 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) 85

81 Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid) 85

80 Radja Nainggolan (Roma) 85

79 Alex Sandro (Juventus) 86

78 Medhi Benatia (Juventus) 86

77 Dani Parejo (Valencia) 86

76 Nemanja Matic (Manchester United) 86

75 Douglas Costa (Juventus) 86

74 Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 86

73 Naldo (Schalke) 86

72 Fernandinho (Manchester City) 86

71 Miralem Pjanic (Juventus) 86

70 Leroy Sané (Manchester City) 86

69 Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus) 86

68 Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) 86

67 Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) 86

66 Ederson (Manchester City) 86

65 Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) 86

64 Marco Verratti (PSG) 86

63 Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City) 86

62 Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich) 86

61 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) 86

60 Sadio Mané (Liverpool) 86

59 Ivan Perisic (Inter) 86

58 Raphael Varane (Real Madrid) 86

57 Ciro Immobile (Lazio) 87

56 Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United) 87

55 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) 87

54 Dries Mertens (Napoli) 87

53 Mauro Icardi (Inter) 87

52 Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) 87

51 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 87

50 Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe) 87

49 Jordi Alba (Barcelona) 87

48 Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) 87

47 Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) 87

46 Marek Hamsik (Napoli) 87

45 Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) 87

44 Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) 87

43 Gerard Pique (Barcelona) 87

42 Kylian Mbappé (PSG) 87

41 Thiago Silva (PSG) 88

40 Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) 88

39 Samir Handanovic (Inter) 88

38 Gonzalo Higuain (Milan) 88

37 Casemiro (Real Madrid) 88

36 James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich) 88

35 Gianluigi Buffon (PSG) 88

34 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) 88

33 Paul Pogba (Manchester United) 88

32 Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) 88

31 Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) 88

30 PhilippeCoutinho (Barcelona) 88

29 Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) 88

28 Marcelo (Real Madrid) 88

27 Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 88

26 Isco (Real Madrid) 89

25 Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) 89

24 David Silva (Manchester City) 89

23 Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich) 89

22 Edinson Cavani (PSG) 89

21 Paulo Dybala (Juventus) 89

20 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 89

19 Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) 89

18 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) 89

17 Harry Kane (Tottenham) 89

16 N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea) 89

15 Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) 90

14 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) 90

13 Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid) 90

12 Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) 90

11 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 90

10 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) 90

9 David de Gea (Manchester United) 91

8 Luis Suarez (Barcelona) 91

7 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) 91

6 Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 91

5 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) 91

4 Luka Modric (Real Madrid) 91

3 Neymar (PSG) 92

2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 94

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) 94

FIFA 19 Ultimate Team

FIFA Ultimate Team is by far the game's most popular mode, as players open player packs to build the finest team they can. As a firmly established mode, EA aren't likely to mess with the formula too much. However, this year will see the addition of Division Rivals which sees you placed in a division with similarly-skilled players. The aim, of course, is to gain promotion and move up through the ranks.

There will be Weekly tournaments to encourage regular play, and a lot more opportunity to qualify for the prestigious Weekend Tournaments which tests the best of the best. Complaints in the previous game said that qualifying for the weekend tournaments was too stringent, testing time and resolve rather than skill.

New Kick-Off mode

Many of our favourite additions to FIFA 19 can be found within the Kick-Off mode, the one-off matches that are the preserve of pre-and-post pub match-ups. A lot more attention has been lavished on the couch-jostling and house rules that players previously had to adjust themselves.

It is the house rules that intrigue the most, with new modes such as headers and volleys, where goals can only be scored with, well headers and volleys. There is the excellent survival mode, which has a team sacrifice a player every time they score a goal, leading to a genuine to and fro. And, of course, there is the asking-for-trouble, No Referee mode.

Champions League and Europa League fully embedded, including Career Mode

That the world’s biggest football game didn’t have the official license for the world’s most prestigious club competition was a chink in EA’s licensing armour. Now that FIFA 19 will have all those mod-cons -starred ball, ostentatious theme tune and all-- they are as lavishly presented as you might expect.

Games will be prefaced with the pomp and ceremony of a Champions or Europa League match, while the look of the game will be re-skinned in the same way it would as if you were playing a Premier League or Bundesliga game.

Champions League matches will be afforded all the lavish trimmings of the competitionCredit:
EA

EA go a little further here, though, bringing in the all-new commentary team of BT Sport’s Derek Rae and Lee Dixon to replace the remaining A-team of Martin Tyler and Alan Smith.

The competitions will be fully-embedded into career mode, of course, with the menus rebranding to let you know you are in a European week. There will even be little videos of the draw following a round of matches, as we all know that’s where the action is.

FIFA 19 gameplay preview - Dynamic tactics headline impressive tweaks

In terms of back of the box bullet points, FIFA 19’s gameplay changes seem relatively low-key. But as ever in games of this type, it is the accumulative effect of the less-heralded nips and tucks that make foa distinct improvement.

The one thing that EA are very keen on shouting about are the more comprehensive tactical options. Strategic variety is an area in which FIFA has traditionally struggled, particularly compared with the richness of PES’s tactics.

The Telegraph covered the dynamic tactics extensively in our E3 preview last month and we remain impressed. It is clearly an area that EA have taken to heart and have worked on putting their own spin on. Particularly noteworthy is the option to fully customise each mentality, including formation, meaning you can switch from a defensive 5-4-1 to a gung-ho 4-2-4 at the press of a button.

FIFA 19 will have far more dynamic tactics that you can change on the flyCredit:
EA

It will be interesting to see how these different tactics and player traits affect FIFA 19 as you move down the football pyramid. There was a difference when playing around with strategies in our play session, but loaded with the caveat that the teams available --Man City, PSG, Real-- were all stuffed with galacticos and highly skilled players.

How this tactical variety differs from elite competition to mid-table Premier League scraps and even the blood and thunder of League Two will hole the real proof of its success. Too often the latter games would play out similarly to the former, just slower.

The changes to the on-pitch action itself are subtle but appear incredibly effective at making games feel more natural. EA are touting a new ‘Active Touch System’, which essentially covers a range of added animations that affect a player’s control. Players have a greater range of traps to bring the ball under their control; chest control is expanded, while players may leave a trailing heel to bring the ball in, or stretch to keep a ball from going out of touch.

The more skilled a player is the more lavish and athletic his control can be, but the urgency and variety covers footballers across the board.

FIFA 19 will feature a larger range of player traps and tricks

The new touch system plays well with the expanded 50/50 battling. In FIFA 18, when two players came together you would often see one player backing out of the challenge and leaving his opponent to take the ball. No more, with both players committed to the crunch and the ball’s whereabouts left up to fate. There are things that will affect the outcome of 50/50 battles, including a player’s inherent strengths and the pace and position of each competitor, but now it will give more of a fighting chance to both players.

At this stage, all of these systems are working well in practice. Matches feel a lot more physical and unpredictable, the ball feeling less of a slave to animations or unseen decisions. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled at the screen as I’ve watched one of my players pull out of a challenge in FIFA 18, or let the ball dribble past them when they could have stuck a leg out to intercept. In FIFA 19 it appears this will not be the case quite so often, with more dynamic physicality and variety on the pitch.

Other frustrations also seem to have been addressed. Whether as part of the aforementioned tweaks or otherwise, defenders no longer seem quite so hamstrung. They have a much better chance of using their physicality to intercept players just looking to waltz through gaps, while the improved positioning and tactics should leave fewer of those holes in the first place.

With the addition of timed finishing, players like Dybala can add a layer of skill to their shots

If you miss a standing tackle, for instance, it will leave you trailing but won’t take your player out of the game entirely for several seconds. And I am inordinately pleased that, like PES, FIFA 19 will use an icon to indicate which player you will switch to next. No more letting a winger swan in because you inexplicably changed to a full-back several thousand miles away. It might still happen, of course, but at least now you will have a warning.

The adjustments have ramifications across the pitch which seem to have lead to a more free-flowing, physical and unpredictable game of football. Even the goals scored seemed to have more variety, with everything from spectacular Lewandowski volleys to Harry Kane stretching a leg out to nick in front of the keeper at the far post. The addition of the (optional) timed finishing, meanwhile, adds a neat if inessential layer of skill in front of goal.

I had an enormous amount of fun in my few hours with FIFA 19 and, as a long-term player, was delighted to see some of my FIFA 18 bugbears seemingly addressed so fully. If EA keep up this level improvement through to release, we should be in for a significant footballing upgrade come September.